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Iraqi policemen and civilians inspect the site of a car bomb attack near a restaurant in the southeastern district of New Baghdad

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EU FACES PRESSURE OVER AID TO IRAQ

The European Union "could do more" to provide aid to Iraq, David Cameron and Francois Hollande have said, as Britain prepares to take part in an international rescue mission to help refugees fleeing Islamic extremists.

The PM and the French president agreed that the need to boost aid should be addressed when EU foreign ministers meet tomorrow to discuss the crisis in Iraq, according to Downing Street.

It has also been reported the SAS is on the ground in Iraq, with the Daily Telegraph reporting Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, the trade envoy to Iraq, said British special forces had been working with US troops for "six weeks or more".

A-LEVELS 2014: RESULTS DAY ARRIVES

Sixth-formers across the country are today finding out if their hard work and effort has paid off as they wake up to their A-level results.

Around 300,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be heading to their schools and colleges this morning to receive their grades.

For many, success in the exams will mean a prized place at university, an apprenticeship or other training scheme, while those who achieved less than expected are likely to be considering their options.

SURGERIES GET OFSTED-STYLE RATINGS

GP services which are not providing adequate care to patients could be shut down, health regulators have announced.

Poorly performing practices will be put into a new failure regime and those that don't improve will face closure, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.

GP surgeries will receive Ofsted-style ratings - where they are deemed to be outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate - and those that are given the lowest rating face being put into special measures. If they fail to make improvements following this they could be shut down.

EXPERTS REVEAL SALT-RELATED DEATHS

Consuming too much salt leads to more than 1.6 million heart disease-related deaths around the world each year, research suggests.

Scientists based the finding on an analysis of 205 surveys of sodium intake in countries representing nearly three-quarters of the world's adult population.

Effects of sodium on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk were determined in a separate study of pooled trial data.

TRIDENT RELOCATION COSTS DETAILED

Moving the UK's nuclear deterrent out of an independent Scotland is not impossible and would probably cost far less than the tens of billions of pounds previously predicted, experts have suggested.

Relocating Trident in the event of Scottish independence would be feasible, although it could take more than a decade and spark significant local opposition, a new paper from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) military think tank has found.

But the paper, published tomorrow suggests that recreating the nuclear facilities outside Scotland would add between £2.5-3.5 billion to the cost of maintaining a nuclear-armed fleet, plus the cost of acquiring and clearing land - but would be far less than a previously-predicted £20-25 billion.

PROPERTY MARKET 'IS COOLING DOWN'

Further signs that the property market is cooling down have been reported by surveyors, who said the number of people looking for new homes has fallen back for the first time in a year and a half.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) July survey found that its members now expect property values to increase at a faster rate outside London over the next year than within the capital.

Despite the signs of a slowdown in demand from potential home-buyers, the typical surveyor sold nearly 25 properties in the three months to July, putting house sales at the strongest levels seen since summer 2007.

CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE BADLY HANDLED

The handling of a suspected child sexual exploitation case involving a teenage girl with a sexually-transmitted disease has been attacked by probation inspectors.

Children's social care services, the police and a youth offending team (YOT) closed the file on a 14-year-old with gonorrhoea - named only as Rhianna - after less than a year, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) said.

It was thought the truant teen, whose father had died and mother had alcohol problems, was being targeted by a known gang member for sexual exploitation.

OBESITY RAISES CANCER RISK - STUDY

People who are overweight or obese are at greater risk of developing cancer, according to a major new study.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gathered data on 5.2 million people in the UK, of which nearly 170,000 developed cancer, and found that a person's Body Mass Index, a measure of body fat, was linked to 17 out of 22 cancers.

The findings, published in the Lancet medical journal, suggest BMI was "positively associated" with 10 most common cancers, including uterus, cervix, thyroid, kidney, liver and colon. Post-menopausal breast cancer and leukaemia were also a heightened risk, the scientists said.

BURGLARY ATTACK: SECOND MAN CHARGED

A second man has been charged in connection with a burglary in which a homeowner was left with "extreme facial injuries" after being beaten by masked men.

Police released an image of the injuries suffered by the victim, who has been named in reports as university law lecturer Paul Kohler, after he was attacked in Wimbledon, south-west London,

A 23-year-old man arrested at the scene was charged with grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglary this morning and will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates Court today, Scotland Yard said.

BOWEL CANCER 'BEING FOUND TOO LATE'

Too many patients are only being diagnosed with bowel cancer when it is too late, a charity has warned.

Almost one in 10 patients are only diagnosed when their cancer is classed as "advanced", Bowel Cancer UK said.

Of the 41,500 people diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK, 3,800 are diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer.